Pit Bulls: Our Forgotten Heroes

For most of the folks out there who lived on the negative connotations in which the media is largely responsible for, I do hope this article will help you appreciate a pit bull as a dog, not a monster. You need to believe in the facts and not on what other people say.

I do know that there are good number of literature and written records that you can find all over the web regarding the pit bull. You will realize that there is more to this breed other than the unconfirmed reports, which spread faster than a killer virus. Here are samples of true pit bull heroes that are not widely published for whatever unknown reasons.

Sgt. Stubby: The Brown and White Patched Orphaned Hero

Sergeant Stubby, the World War 1 hero

He was just a puppy with an unknown pedigree when a Private named John Robert Conroy found him in the grounds of Yale University. This was in 1917. At that time, the 102nd Infantry was preparing for deployment to fight in World War 1. This pit bull had this “stubbed” tail, which is where it got its name, Stubby.

As a puppy, and like any other stray dogs, Stubby was living form one garbage can to another. He was left to sleep on the cold finding shelter anywhere he could until he accidentally stumbled into John on the parade grounds of Yale.

John started leaving food for this pup and he let him sleep inside the barracks until everyone ended up being friends with Stubby. Everyday Stubby watched the soldiers do their drill on the field until he became familiar with everything including the sound of the bugle calls. He even learned how to salute raising his paw to his brow, which was a very amazing feat for a dog like Stubby.

The order came for the infantry to ship to battle in France and Stubby was smuggled on board the ship tucked under John Conroy’s coat. The dog was so smart that he did not move to avoid being noticed until he was hidden inside the coal room. When the ship was too far away to turn back, John decided to bring Stubby onto the ships dock. Everyone was happy to see this awesome stud on board.

They even made Stubby his own nametag like what the soldiers wore back then.

Finally, they’re in France, another task was at hand to conceal Stubby. He was being hidden in the camp until, one day, the commander learned about the dog.

Back then, dogs or any pet was not allowed into camps, however they told the commander the story of how wonderful he was and loved by everyone. The commander gave the permission to let Stubby stay for “morale purposes.” Stubby became the mascot of the Yankee Division.

Stubby joined the soldiers in the war. The soldiers stayed in the trenches, where water and mud was shin deep, while constantly being bombarded with rifle shots and artillery fire.

Stubby became accustomed to his new surroundings until the Germans had launched a gas attack. This gas attack was so bad that it burns your lungs and skin. This was the first injury Stubby had. However, after surviving this injury, he became sensitive to even the slightest smell of gas and was able to warn the soldiers ahead of time of an impending gas attack. Because of this, he was able to save many lives.

Other than running into No Man’s Land where Stubby, the pit bull, was able to find the wounded and let rescuers know where these soldiers were. He was also able to catch a German spy planning to draw a map about the Allied’s whereabouts.

Another injury the brave pit bull sustained was from shrapnel of a German’s grenade. Stubby sustained injuries on his chest and leg but recovered from them.

This simple dog was so brave that he was promoted to sergeant. He was also given numerous medals and honors for his bravery. He was the first to be given such recognition in the armed forces.

Why Do You Hate Pit Bulls?

A pit bull is no different from any other pet you desire. The way it reacts towards its master and its family is exceptional. I am not saying this because I own two wonderful pit bulls but I also spent some time reading articles and featured readings from very reliable resources on the Web and elsewhere.

I wrote this article to create awareness. I am not forcing you to like the breed. As a dog person, I only want you to give this breed the respect it deserves. This is my way of giving back to the breed.

Believing in the negative reports of others, especially the media, rather than seeing the truth, will keep you prejudiced and fearful of something you shouldn’t be from the very beginning. Maybe you need to own one and experience firsthand how to handle a pit bull. Be a responsible owner before you say bad things about it.

People tend to stereotype – a fault of one is the fault of all. Dogs will be dogs whatever breed they may be. I do hope that one day, this breed will no longer be singled out whenever bad things happen to anyone.

Besides Stubby, there are other pit bull heroes, like Weela who saved several lives during a typhoon, out there. Popsicle, who was also an orphan, helped bust hundreds of kilos of illegal drugs worth thousands of dollars. Dixie saved her family from a cottonmouth snake and lived to see another day after she survived the snakebites. Recently in the Philippines, a pit bull named Chief saved his family from a cobra. Although he was able to kill the cobra, Chief sadly died. Until his very last breath, this pup wagged his tail to greet his master, which was very touching.

Many people do not realize how intelligent this breed is. A lot of them too will suggest putting this breed to sleep especially those that were abused and rescued. Let us not forget that pit bulls where not trained to be aggressive to humans but rather to be a great companion.